Animal Health Foundation Blog

Itchy guinea pig likely has 1 of 3 ailments

Guinea pigs suffering from itchy skin may have species-specific lice, a mite infection called sarcoptic mange or the fungal infection known as ringworm, writes veterinarian Jeff Kahler, who notes that ringworm can be transmitted to people from their guinea pig. A veterinarian can distinguish between the three using microscopic evaluations of skin and hair from the guinea pig as well as a fungal culture.The Miami Herald/McClatchy Newspapers

By JEFF KAHLER, D.V.M.

McClatchy Newspapers

When Allison told her mom that her guinea pig seemed to be scratching herself a lot, Allison was told to clean out Poppy’s cage. Young Allison put in a fresh bedding of cedar chips mixed with pine shavings. Poppy seemed to scratch less, but the improvement was short-lived. The scratching is now to the point of waking Allison up at night, and when Allison pets Poppy, she can feel scabbing along the cava’s back.

I do not recommend cedar shavings for any rodent or rabbit. It can be very irritating to the respiratory tract in these animals. The list of possible causes for pruritus, or itchiness, in guinea pigs is long, however three causes make up the lion’s share of these cases. While either of these three could be placed at the top of the list, I will start by focusing on sucking and/or chewing lice. In my clinical experience, I see this as the most common cause of pruritus in my guinea pig patients.

Lice are parasites. They can be found in many different species of animals from fish to birds to mammals, including humans. Most often, the type of lice involved with one type of animal is specific to that type of animal. In other words, lice from guinea pigs will not infest a human. In guinea pigs, these unattractive little creatures gain access from one guinea pig to another most commonly through direct contact, though lice can be transmitted through substrate such as bedding materials and also through food, especially bulk food.

Once these lice set up “house” on their hosts, they begin feeding by biting or sucking on the skin surface. As one might imagine, this is quite pruritic and irritating. Poppy’s scenario certainly fits with the possibility of an infection with lice.

Some people can see lice with their naked eye; I can not. I use clear plastic tape, placing it sticky side down in an itchy area of the pig’s skin. I then take the tape and stick it to a microscope slide and look at it under magnification for the presence of lice and/or their eggs.

Treatment for lice in guinea pigs involves using an oral or injectable medication two to four times, with two weeks between each treatment depending on the severity. The two-week interval allows the eggs to hatch and the lice killed before they lay new eggs. I also recommend treating the environment every four days by removing and replacing the substrate and spraying with a spray containing the same ingredient as the medication used to treat the guinea pig. This therapy should rid the guinea pig of lice.

Mange is another cause of pruritus. It is caused by mites. These are specifically sarcoptic mange mites that burrow into the guinea pig’s skin and cause irritation and pruritus. The pruritus can be quite intense, to the point where some patients go into seizures. Diagnosis for mange involves scrapping the skin and putting the scraped contents on a microscope slide and observing the mites and/or their eggs under magnification. These mites can not be seen with the naked eye.

Treatment for mange in guinea pigs is virtually identical to the treatment for lice.

The last of the “big three” possible causes for Poppy’s itchy skin in fungal infection of the skin. This is commonly referred to as ringworm, though it involves no worms. This skin disease is caused by a fungal organism that colonizes the skin and causes an inflammatory response that is intensely pruritic. We diagnose this disease by growing the fungus on a special growth medium specifically designed for this purpose. Treatment usually involves oral and topical therapy, including bathing with specific anti-fungal shampoo. Prognosis for recovery is good. An important point to note here is that guinea pigs can transfer ringworm fungus to people.

Poppy likely has one of these three. A visit to her veterinarian for diagnostic tests will lead to a diagnosis and a cure.

(Jeff Kahler is a veterinarian in Modesto, Calif. Questions can be submitted to Your Pet in care of LifeStyles, The Modesto Bee, P.O. Box 5256, Modesto CA 95352.)

9 Responses to “Itchy guinea pig likely has 1 of 3 ailments”

We have 2 guinea pigs. One scratches and has “hot spots” on belly losing hair since April. Othe guinea is fine. Rainbow the one with itching was taken to vet. They ruled out mites with scraping. She was put on oral antibiotic and a cleanser We did that. They seem to be drying up. But now she has new one on top and again losing hair. I would think it could be lice or ringworm but other guidea pig is completely fine. The vet suggested separating them because she thought other guinea was doing this to rainbow. I’m so frustrated because I want her to feel better. Any suggestions?

I have two guinea pigs and they both itch a lot mostly on their stomach or nose. I was okay at first, but it happens when I take them outside. I looked to see if they had fleas but they don’t. Now I’m very concerned

I have one guinea pig and have not had him for very long. Just a little bit ago I noticed that he (the guinea pig) was rubbing himself against the side of his little bed and biting/ scratching himself a lot. Then I noticed that whenever I held him he seemed very uncomfortable and he bit me. He also seems to be eating excess amounts of hay and making lots of chirping noises. What is going on? Am I simply being an over bearing pet owner and worrying too much or is something seriously going wrong?

I’m sure he is fine, my piggy (daisy) scratches her belly sometimes when the cage needs to be cleaned. If the cage is dirty it may make him feel itchy. like if you haven’t washed your hair in a week, your scalp will itch.

Got 1 piggy then thought she was lonely. I did not know that in Sweden it is illegal to sell just one guinea pig. Well anyway the pig I bought was abused. She is scared of everything and she seem lonely and depressed. No matter how much time you spent with her she seems lonely. And then I saw that on the Internet. I went right out and got her another female they fought tooth and nail ever every inch of that cage. Within one day we got them another cage and separated them yet butting the cages up against each other so they have friends. This did solve that problem. However they both itch really bad all the time. I’ve noticed a dander on them not eggs not lice not anything like that because I’ve seen them before in other Animals it’s just dry skin. They are in a room with a wood stove because we heat solely by wood. We have a humidifier in there also. The piggies love the woodstove and the warmth however they keep itching and itching. Also we got them in the summer so they were itching without the woodstove being lit. So I definitely have to rule that out. We both have read how to do the tape thing and take a scratch thing and look under the microscope but I can honestly tell you That when we look under the microscope at what we’ve seen it is not lice because they’re not kind of shines and they are definately not wrapped around the hairshaft. This seems to be just purely dry skin. They have no rash they have no bumps yet they itch all the time what is going on. ?? We are both disabled and bought these guinea pigs as friends and company. We just don’t have the money and I have tried every place for any kind of veterinarian that would see them for a little less money but it seems like 200 bucks is a bottom line just to walk through the door. As we are disabled they are our best friends we love them dearly and they get whatever they want i.e. clean cages you name it they got it free roam time etc. whenever we go, we take them (2 carriers and harness) with us. They LOVE going out. They are like little doggies to us. We love them and we’re worried that we may be missing something here. When our dog passed years ago he got a fungus in his webbed feet and I will put bag balm on it it totally healed him. I’m wondering if maybe a little bag balm would be good for them as it is not poisonous . Any suggestions ????

Hi Rlswt it’s really sweet to hear how much those piggies mean to you and I wish I could help you work out what’s going on but I don’t know enough about piggies yet. Only had our 2 rescues a year. In that time I have learnt quite a lot such as they are happiest when bedded on fleece, need nuggets with mint in, the finest quality hay (dust-extracted) and a palace to live in! We finally caved in and bought them a mansion custom built 5x5ft from Manor Pet Housing which has definitely improved their quality of life in the winter (they live indoors all year round but graze in the summer). Yes, they really are spoilt piggies and yet we’ve had times when we had to rush them to the vet due to cystitis, URI’s and other things, which is just what it’s like when you own furry babies! Anyway my advice would be to find a guinea pig forum and post your question there – Guinea Lynx, Happy Cavvy, theguineapigforum.co.uk, guineapigcare.com etc. Hope you find out what’s going on and I wish you and your piggies long & happy lives 🙂

I have 3 piggy, most recently one of them has started itching really bad. She is blonde with pink eyes so she’s light enough to see any bugs I would think. Where she is scratching she’s losing her hair behind her ears and in the creases of her legs, I also see a few tiny white bumps on her. They say change can bring this on, and there has been some changes. I have started giving them a lot more floor time, mostly all the time now. There floor time consist of a large like fence in the house, I even let them sleep there now. I clean there bedding daily. I also have changed the type of hay I’ve been feeding them. I have a vets appt. this morning so I let you know the results.